How Does Population Decrease Affect Us?

We keep talking about Iron County’s loss of population but
very few people have looked at the numbers. Unfortunately
the 2010 census numbers aren’t available but the estimates
seem reasonable.


2000 2009 change
Iron County 13,138 11,633 -11.9%

Out of every 10 people you knew in the year 2000, more
than 1 of those people isn’t in Iron County any more.

The most stable is Mansfield Township, where the loss is
5.8%. In Mansfield Township out of every 20 people you
knew back in the year 2000, roughly 1 is no longer with
us.

The source for these numbers is:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/cgi/cgi_census_cvtr0009_327587_7.pdf

Closing Camp Ottawa cost Iron County 51 jobs. For all the
money spent by government on the new sawmill at Amasa,
how many jobs did that get us in the county?

http://www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa/Publications/Notes/2009Notes/NotesMayJun09lh.pdf

There’s also some concern that the Central School project
that’s supposed to convert that facility into apartments isn’t
going to be funded after all.

With another 11.9% decrease in Iron County’s population
coming in this decade, perhaps someone can explain to me
why anyone in their right mind can think it might be a good
idea to build a new, fancy, expensive airport. Even if it
costs the Iron County taxpayers nothing to actually build
it, what of recurring maintenance and security costs?

And what if it gets partially built and funding dries up,
as it appears to have for the Central School? Can we board
over an airport, partially built? And once partially built,
how do we then manage to get the land back on the tax
rolls?

Bill Vajk